Trump, Warren complicate GOP primary for U.S. Senate

Wednesday

In a state where polls show Sen. Elizabeth Warren is popular and President Donald Trump is not, beating the incumbent Democrat for U.S. Senate will be a challenge.

In a state where polls show Sen. Elizabeth Warren is popular and President Donald Trump is not, beating the incumbent Democrat for U.S. Senate will be a challenge.

But three Republican candidates are nonetheless convinced toppling Warren is not only possible, but ultimately important for Massachusetts residents and Americans across the country.

“No one contributes more to the negative dynamic in Washington than Elizabeth Warren,” said Beth Lindstrom of Groton, a small-business owner and cabinet member of former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, a fellow Republican. “If we want a new tone, then we are going to need a new senator.”

Lindstrom must first face fellow Republican candidates Geoff Diehl, a state representative from Whitman, and John Kingston, a retired corporate lawyer and philanthropist from Winchester. The three are vying to become the sole Republican candidate, which voters will decide at the primary election on Sept. 4.

The candidates, albeit critical of one another, have spent much of the campaign cycle targeting Warren, a progressive Cambridge Democrat running unopposed in her party. Warren, who recently received a 53 percent favorability rating in Massachusetts, is also widely considered a possible candidate for U.S. president in 2020, which has emerged as a focus in the primary campaign.

“After six years of Warren ignoring Massachusetts and grandstanding to build a national profile, voters want a senator who will put Massachusetts first,” said Holly Robichaud, a Diehl spokeswoman.

Diehl, first elected to represent the 7th Plymouth District in the Mass. House of Representatives in 2010, is the frontrunner in the Republican primary for Senate. He earned the party endorsement earlier this year at the GOP State Convention and was also leading Lindstrom and Kingston in a recent WBUR poll of Republican voters.

The lawmaker is running on a platform to fight illegal immigration, cut taxes and stop wasteful spending. As frontrunner, he’s also received a fair amount of criticism from his fellow candidates. Lindstrom has repeatedly called him out on various issues, including his decision to accept a legislative pay increase after voting against it.

“The last thing we need is to send another politician to Washington,” Lindstrom said of Diehl.

Lindstrom, the former director of the Massachusetts Republican Party, served as secretary of Consumer Affairs for the Romney administration. She boasts three decades of dependable and steadfast dedication to the ever-evolving party.

“I have always believed that if you have a problem with the direction of the Republican Party, then you should work within the party to change it,” she said.

Kingston, meanwhile, is a Harvard Law School graduate. He spent about 16 years working at AMG, a publicly traded global equity firm that reported $779.2 billion in average assets under management in 2017.

Since retiring about three years ago and entering into politics, Kingston has struck a more bipartisan tone, running on a platform he’s calling, “American solutions.”

“I’m running for office to bring people together across the divides,” he said. “This era of division must give way to an era of unity. And I believe the people of Massachusetts are ready to show America the way.”

One potential challenge for the three Republican candidates is their relationship with Trump, who has become increasingly unpopular in Massachusetts.

A recent Morning Consult poll showed Massachusetts residents like Trump less than any other state, with a 62 percent disapproval rating. The number represents a 15-point increase since Trump took office in January 2017, according to the poll.

Lindstrom, who said she would support a Trump re-election campaign, has tried to distance herself from him on other issues. She’s also not fond of Twitter, arguably the president’s favorite mode of communication.

“Lecturing, raging and grandstanding can work up your followers on Twitter, but that is not the same as serving your constituents,” she said.

Kingston, who trailed Diehl and Lindstrom in the WBUR poll, is hoping his message will appeal to both sides.

“I’m running for Senate because I believe there are solutions to what ails us,” he said. “But they are not Democratic solutions, or Republican solutions. They are American solutions – to just about everything – answers that almost all of us can agree on.”

Diehl, who served in 2016 as co-chairman of Trump’s campaign in Massachusetts, isn’t too worried about being tied to the president, saying the first-term leader of the Republican Party has delivered on his promises. Diehl believes Trump’s track record will ultimately resonate positively with Massachusetts voters.

“While Donald Trump during the election cycle may not have won Massachusetts, he’s certainly doing the job that people expected him to do,” Diehl said during a recent debate on Boston Herald Radio.

Eli Sherman is an investigative and in-depth reporter at Wicked Local and GateHouse Media. Email him at esherman@wickedlocal.com, or follow him on Twitter @Eli_Sherman.